Do Your Basement Walls Appear to Be Leaning? Here’s What You Should Do

It’s time to get out your holiday decorations! The family is together and everyone is excited to get to work, and you go downstairs into the basement to start bringing up the boxes. You flip on the light, move a few things out of the way, and then do a double-take—is that wall leaning? You take a few steps to get a different angle, and sure enough, that wall definitely has a bend to it.

Certainly not what you were expecting to deal with today, but you know it needs to be taken care of. You grab the first box, go back upstairs, and get the phone. You recently heard about the Foundation Doctor St. Louis, and you start dialing their number.

Call a Professional for a Consultation

The Foundation Doctor St. Louis has extensive experience correcting this issue, as it’s fairly common in the St. Louis area.Unfortunately, by the time homeowners notice their walls bowing or leaning, the issue has been happening for quite some time. This only means that the homeowner must take action quickly to prevent further damage. Bowing walls can crack and let water into the home, which can further damage the walls and even cause them to collapse. If you notice this happening, call us today!

Why do walls bow?

A build up of hydrostatic pressure—water pushing against the walls—canpush against the foundation walls of your home with more pressure than the walls can withstand, and this causes the walls to bow inward.Hydrostatic pressure can occur due to poor drainage, or sometimes walls bow during the changing seasons as they expand or contract with temperature fluctuations.

The Foundation Doctor St. Louis will inspect your home and identify the cause of the bowing or leaning walls.From there, a solution and plan of action will be determined.

Repair the Leaning Walls

Foundation professionals have developed a few options for repairing bowing walls, and the extent of the damage will help you determine which is the best method of repair.

One option to secure your foundation is through reinforcement. The Foundation Doctor St. Louis accomplishes this through the use of our patented tool, the Reinforcer.This is a 4”-wide strip of carbon fiber bonded together with structural epoxy, which is specifically designed to stabilized basement foundation walls.

A second option would be to use wall anchors. Wall anchors are metal plates installed on the interior of the foundation and then tied to an anchor buried in the yard, known as a “deadman.” This will prevent hydrostatic pressure from further moving the walls.

The Foundation Doctor St. Louis will identify the best option for your home, and then complete the repair. Additionally, we offer the best “Lifetime of the Structure Warranty” in the business. This warranty applies to the structure of the home and is fully transferrable to new homeowners at no extra cost.

Call us today! We look forward to providing your solutions to any bowing or leaning walls.